Zoe Ball quit £950,000 a year BBC Radio 2 job for daughter who is ‘never’ home
'I'm like, "I've given up work for you!"'
Zoe Ball has explained that she quit her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show gig to be there for her daughter Nelly, 15, as she navigates GCSEs – but that the teenager is never at home anyway.
The 54-year-old broadcaster got candid on the latest episode of comedians Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell podcast, while discussing her and ex-husband Fatboy Slim’s two children; Nelly, 15, and Woody, 25.
During the chat, she touched on her Radio 2 breakfast show exit, and admitted things haven’t quite worked out as she anticipated.
‘I gave up work because she’s going to do her GCSEs, but she’s never here, she’s out with her mates,’ Zoe explained of Nelly as the co-hosts chuckled.
‘I’m like, “I’ve given up work for you!”‘ said Zoe, who turned her back on a £950,000-a-year salary following her mum Julia’s death from cancer in 2024, so she could support Nelly with her exams, as well as help her navigate the difficulties of being a teenager.
She made the move away from the slot to spend more time with her family (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock) However, Nelly, 15, is out and about enjoying being a teenager quite a lot (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock)The broadcaster – who was replaced by DJ Scott Mills, 51, on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show last year – added: ‘It’s only since giving up the breakfast show that I now do the school run in the morning, and I love it.#
‘She’s got GCSEs this year, but that was part of giving up the breakfast show. I was like, I really want to be there for her because it’s going to be a tough year.
‘And also for girls, 15 is booze and boys. It’s a nightmare. It’s an absolute minefield.’
Zoe – who returned to Radio 2 in May to present her afternoon Saturday show – split from Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, in September 2016 after 18 years together, with their divorce finalised in 2020.
